The 2000 UEFA Cup Final Riots, also known as the Battle of Copenhagen,[1] were a series of riots in City Hall Square, Copenhagen, Denmark between fans of English football team Arsenal and Turkish team Galatasaray around the 2000 UEFA Cup Final on 17 May 2000. [19] The Danish police then moved in to separate the fans, and moved the Galatasaray fans back towards the square. The police were knocking everyone about, says Paul Holmes, a friend of the Loftuses who was in Taksim Square when the violence broke out. The slit-throat gestures from fans as we arrived on the bus. But the Leeds fans do not see it that way. Two lives lost and two lives wasted, for nothing. He just happened to run into some tossers with knives., George was so young that the aftermath almost strayed into boyhood adventure. In its opinion, contesting the game was the least worst option. Can you list the top facts and stats about 2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence? Association with the tragedy can be difficult. Leeds supporters who were present denied causing trouble and the UK coroner who presided over the inquest, David Hinchliff, stated in unequivocal terms that Speight and Loftus were the innocent victims of a deliberate ambush. Menu He had a passion for Lambretta scooters and spent his spare time fixing old models in his mothers garden. Ali Sami Yen, the stadium was so overcrowded that he had Galatasaray fans in front of him literally sat on my feet. The next day, he and Leeds players and coaching staff reached the airport, climbed on a plane and flew home. Others that the Turks precipitated it by throwing chairs. Galatasaray away on April 6, 2000; a huge occasion for the club in a football sense, Ridsdale says. The first the Leeds players heard of the incident in Taksim Square was when phone calls started reaching them in their hotel. It was only when Gray arrived home that his parents asked if he was OK and told him about the many Rangers fans who had died. Leeds fans have reacted furiously to reports that Ezgjan Alioski has agreed to move to Galatasaray. Hed just met a girl. Those killed were "attackers", it said. You mention him over Farsley way and people respect him. The images of that never grow old. [13], On the Wednesday at 1:00, Galatasaray fans attacked a bar in Strget in Copenhagen, where some Arsenal fans were located. I dont know why.. They will never be forgotten.. Galatasaray supporters, despite everything that had gone on, were pelting the buses and trying to smash the windows. The Football Associations David Davies said playing the game was the least worst option. The police warned a postponement could cause more trouble. Squad Galatasaray This page displays a detailed overview of the club's current squad. When the second leg came round, in the dressing room we were trying to say, Come on, lets get stuck into them. But in the back of your mind youre putting football aside. Spencer stepped in and paid with his personal credit card. I dont think, even to this day, that Galatasaray would see the amount of press coverage or criticism as being fairly labelled against them, Risdale says. I was totally speechless, totally shocked. In May 2002 Demir, who admitted the stabbings, was sentenced to 15 years in prison with four other men imprisoned for three months each. Another supporter who tried to resuscitate Chris was hit with batons. Ridsdale can visualise it all 21 years on: the lay-out of the hospital, the chaos inside, the panicked confusion. Its completely different. They knocked back as much Elfe (lager), Jack Daniels and Bacardi as I could pour.". Your choice, the official replied. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. [20], After the match, which Galatasaray won 41 on penalties, approximately 300 Arsenal fans in the Finsbury Park area of Islington in London attacked Turkish restaurants and businesses, with bottles being used to break windows. Further information on the Istanbul violence: "Tragedy that awaited two fans on a journey to hell", "16 Hardcore Hooligan Firms, Ultras Groups We Wouldn't Want to Mess with", "Soldiers join hooligans to attack Turks in Cup clash", "Town in fear as drunken English pour in", "Arsenal-Galatasaray, sous le signe de la violence", "English, Turkish fans clash on eve final", "Copenhagen police overrun as soccer fans cause mayhem", "Folkefest endte i vold og masseslagsml", "Surprise attack by Arsenal fans seeking revenge sparked battle", "Violence erupts again as English and Turkish football fans riot in Copenhagen", "Danish police fear more brawls after European soccer final", "Violence overshadows historic soccer victory", "Charleroi lobby yet to learn lessons of Heysel", "Turkish and English fans clash at airport", "Galatasaray Wins UEFA Cup After Day of Rioting by Fans", "England told: more rioting and you're out", "Piers Morgan On Arsenal, Foreign Ownership and Twitter Rants", "SPORTS - The shadow on the UEFA Cup triumph", "How long until Turk fans cause another death on the pitch? That decision drew much criticism, as well it might. I didnt want to do it either. Last year, on the 20th anniversary of the killings in Istanbul, The Athletic spoke to some of the people closest to the tragedy and some of the people most affected by it. His financial record at Leeds was dismal and Leeds never forget about it. Who really cares?. I am not sure if the first few expected fighting but I saw one guy running to a telephone to call his friends after he saw the English. You dont take much notice of whats said because youre out there for a beer and a laugh. The setting was Turkeys biggest city, on the banks of the Bosphorus, and the game was the first leg of a UEFA Cup semi-final. Demir was allowed to undertake national service with the Turkish military before being convicted for a second time in June 2007 and sentenced to 80 months. A streetwise Mancunian, he has looked after Oasis, Noel Gallagher and Take That and on the morning when we speak hes at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, organising staff for a gig by The Script. When we got to the bottom of the stairs they pulled out a drawer, a bit like a filing cabinet, and Christophers body was there. [3] Leeds fans had been drinking in bars reportedly taunting local people and Turkish police intervened to stop fights breaking out. But it was common sense. The eggs were massive and I was chuffed to bits with mine, he says. But where Galatasaray failed, and where Ridsdale specifically felt resentment, was in grasping the scale of the tragedy and in refusing to accept that violence on the streets and a UEFA Cup tie could not be classed as unrelated events once the worst had happened. Galatasaray 2-1 Trabzonspor MORE. Within a year, however, Demir, following an appeal, was a free man after his conviction was quashed and a re-trial ordered. Gray remembers OLeary going out of the team hotel to visit a barbers for a shave beforehand. The facilities are great. The first I knew of it was when they came out to tell me. Its the most terrified Ive ever been, he says. Its funny what sticks in your head, he says. It is his life and his career, much as the option of Galatasaray was incapable of arising without anyone passing comment. I like that they remember him. Right up to the attack, I didnt see any trouble. Other fans in Istanbul spoke of isolated incidents here and there but nothing serious. Speights son, George, is no longer the cheeky kid with floppy hair smiling brightly in the photograph of his father he digs out. The plaque on the wall by Elland Roads East Stand says Never Forgotten and Leeds United swore themselves to those words. Peter Ridsdale, the chairman who guided Leeds through the tragedy, is approaching 70. Mr Loftus from a plunging wound to his heart; Mr Speight, a few hours later after receiving a wound the length of his stomach. Sneijder's tweet has since been deleted and the midfielder sent a tweet to an angry fan stating: "Very sorry. Andy has paid for the plaque to be cleaned a couple of times and it could do with another polish now. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman, had been dining with directors from Galatasaray when reports of trouble came through. From 5pm local time more than 100 Leeds fans had arrived shouting, singing and demanding beer, according to Batu Dedeler, the bar owner. The authorities imposed sentences on some of those who had originally escaped justice with Suleyman Gokhan Guven, Ali Baydar and Yilmaz Tutus given ten, six and five years in prison respectively. My instinct was that we had to know what was happening, Ridsdale says. [21] This lasted 20 minutes[19] before the Danish police attempted to break up the melee with dogs[22] and tear gas. Ridsdale still struggles to accept Galatasarays indifferent reaction to the stabbings. Four people were stabbed in the scuffles, which also involved fans from other clubs and were viewed by the media as part of a retaliation for the killing of two Leeds United fans by Galatasaray supporters the month before. Ill be careful here but I have to say that I felt uncomfortable welcoming Galatasarays delegates to Elland Road. I prefer to go to the plaque at Elland Road, he says. Ridsdale is someone the Speights hold in high regard. [47] Michael Doherty, the chairman of the Communication Workers Union, and his brother Tom took Royal Mail to an Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal claiming they had been acting in self-defence. Theyd turned on their tellies and it was all over the Turkish news, Fallows says. Later in the evening, a group of around 20 Leeds supporters broke off and found their way to the Riddim bar near Taksim Square, the huge expanse in the centre of Istanbul which was filled with places to eat and drink. The Turkish media tried to blame English fans for provoking the violence by being drunk and disrespecting the Turkish flag. He can picture the facade as he entered and the floorplan of the area where other injured Leeds fans had congregated; where Speight lay on an operating table, desperate for surgery. Kevin Fallows was the clubs head of security and travelled with the players to all their fixtures in Europe. For long periods, none of those found guilty spent time behind bars. [31] Nineteen of the arrested were British, thirty-six were Turkish and the rest of the arrested included people from Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. She knows who he was but its not the same.. They reported that as one of them tried to give the kiss of life to Mr Loftus, he was set upon. As chairman of Leeds, he told the UEFA official that it would make sense to postpone the first leg of the semi-final which Leeds and Galatasaray were about to play. Bits of Istanbul werent in control. The police did nothing, in fact they were helping them beat us up." I spent the whole night thinking, What are we doing here? And when the Leeds fans turned their backs to the pitch, total respect to them because the football meant nothing. Fallows is a security guard with ample experience. Ill be honest, by the time we were kicking off I had no idea why we were playing. And many have voiced their opinion on social media following a report by Football Insider that Alioski has agreed a pre-contract to join the rivals in the summer. Something went wrong, please try again later. But he was not and the atmosphere was initially warmer than normal. At a local police station, at around 4am on April 6, Ridsdale was given a stark message by the UEFA representative who turned up there: play the game, or forfeit it and incur an automatic 3-0 defeat. More importantly, we needed to find out what state the two lads were in and whether we could help them.. I was amazed, he says. Try a week on us. He was seven when Speight died, his sister Holly two. On each trip he would set up a desk in the corridor where the team were staying, a point of contact in case of any problems. At the hospital, Ridsdale encountered absolute chaos. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. I know bits and bats but it doesnt help me to go over it, he says. And worse things too. But if you back out, youll forfeit the game and incur a 3-0 defeat. The set of knives, emblazoned with Galatasaray's colours, are produced by Dutch firm Senvi and are available for 22. He died in an operating theatre in the early hours of the morning, despite Leeds United paying for blood supplies to be rushed to him. By And others, like Eddie Gray and Ian Harte, have moved on with their lives. [17], Throughout the day large numbers of fans, both English and Turkish, were seen throughout the city and at the airport. A lot of what the police were doing was pure intimidation, Fallows says. Friends and family of Speight and Loftus had congregated there and other Leeds fans were waiting with more minor injuries, some of them slash wounds. Even then, it was meant to be closed to the press but loads of them were there and they were being really intrusive, Fallows says. (Main photo of Kevin Speight with his son George and daughter Holly). In Turkey, two supporters were murdered. Leeds and Galatasaray have an extremely volatile relationship following the death of two Leeds supporters prior to the UEFA CUp semi-final back in 2000. A lot of what went on I dont want to know. One wrote: 'If Alioski goes there, his high regard and reputation with Leeds fans is destroyed!! In the first leg it was difficult to say, Lets get out there do it for the two lads because we didnt have the full picture, Gray says. Tuesday 5th April 2022 marks 22 years since two loyal Leeds United supporters, Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, travelled to Turkey to watch their beloved team in action but tragically never returned home. I didnt catch everything but I heard enough. Fallows is convinced that Galatasaray and the Turkish police made deliberate attempts to rattle and unsettle away teams, forcing players to squeeze through tight lines of officers to gain entry to the ground and admitting thousands of home fans to the stadium hours before kick-off. Galatasaray 3-2 HangiKredi mraniyespor MORE. Try a week on us. Maybe, he says, and his voice tails off. Devastated., The next 24 hours were a blur. But from 10.30pm local time, any sense of complacency seemed tragically misplaced, as a brutal battle began between Leeds supporters and a group of Turks, with running fights in the streets. They didnt care., The Speights were different and left the criminal cases alone. , updated Spencer interrupted dinner to advise Ridsdale that they should return to the hotel immediately. He rushed to Taksim hospital, near where the men were stabbed. Former club legend Harry Kewell previously soured his relationship with Leeds fans after moving to Galatasaray from Liverpool in 2008. This year is the 20th anniversary of the mens deaths in Istanbul and many of their relatives carry those events as if they happened yesterday. The English FA followed the line of least resistance. The interview included vague expressions of regret but no apology to Speight and Loftus or their relatives. Its a strange thing but its important to me. After a while, Andys eldest brother Phil complained of feeling ill and the two of them decided to go back to their hotel. Alioski was not part of that history but the history exists and the real story here far more significant than Alioski or any other footballer per se is the absence of any reconciliation over a night which feels as raw to those who witnessed it now as it did two decades ago; the lasting bitterness produced by a vacuum of empathy. Without his help, my mum would have been a bit lost, George says. on the 20th anniversary of the killings in Istanbul. The police claim he was punched. Nicolo Zaniolo signed on a permanent deal MORE. Some claimed the English sparked it by throwing beer glasses at passing women pedestrians. By the time the match kicked off, the ramifications of two fatal stabbings the previous. I tried telling Galatasarays staff to get them out. Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed during street clashes the night before Leeds played Turkey's Galatasaray in the second leg of the Uefa Cup semi-finals in April 2000. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. It was how away days in Europe played out. Several fans offered to foot the bill. It was our way of making sure the cameras and the world took notice of us.. The story goes that he and his wife Susan got together after he offered her a lift on the back of one. They just looked at me like I was stupid.. So Leeds did. The only thing I could compare it to is the One Love concert in Manchester (held after the terrorist bombing at the Manchester Arena in 2017) and thats purely because of how difficult the logistics of One Love were, he says.
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